Crimping apparatus

ABSTRACT

THE PRESENCE INVENTION DISCLOSED A CRIMPING APPARATUS USEFUL FOR CRIMPING TERMINAL CONTACTS ONTO ELECTRICAL WIRES AND MORE PARTICULARLY TO IMPROVED INDENTORS HAVING AN ADJUSTED TO INSURE MEMBER WHEREBY EACH INDENTOR CAN BE ADJUSTED TO INSURE EQUAL DEPTH PENETRATION, AND FURTHER DISCLOSED IS AN IMPROVED FUNNEL AND FUNNEL CAM WHEREIN THE FUNNEL IS SPRING DRIVEN AGAINST A CAM HAVING A BLOCKING PORTION, A FUNNEL OPENING PORTION AND A RAMP PORTION OPERABLE TO RETURN THE FUNNEL TO A CLOSED POSITION.   D R A W I N G

United States Patent Kremkau Sept. 10, 1974 [54] CRIMPING APPARATUS [75Inventor: Ward Joseph Kremkau, Primary Examiner n 'omas EagerMechanicsburg, Attorney, Agent, or F zrm-Allan B. Osborne [73] Ass1gnee:1:24P Incorporated, Harrisburg, 57] ABSTRACT [22] Filed May 12 1972 Thepresent invention discloses a crimping apparatus useful for crimpingterminal contacts onto electrical [2]] Appl. No.: 252,792 wires and moreparticularly to improved indentors having an adjusting member wherebyeach indentor 52] U s C 29/203 can be adjusted to insure equal depthpenetration, and 43/04 further disclosed is an improved funnel andfunnel [581 Fieid /203 D 203DT 203 TS cam wherein the funnel is springdriven against a cam v 29/203 having a blocking portion, a funnelopening portion and a ramp portion operable to return the funnel to a[56] References Cited closed posmon' UNITED STATES PATENTS 4 Claims, 8Drawing Figures 3,329,002 7/1967 Schwalm 29/203 D X I 3,416,212 12/1968Busler et al... 3,416,213 12/1968 Cootes 29/203 D ,lmnulls-"whimPAIENTEDSEP 1 clan sumiow -8$3.993-

sum 2 or 7 3833393 PAIENTEDsEP 1 01914 Parzmcnsmmw 30 asaaassPAIENIEDSEP 1 01914 HIHIIHIHHH masses PAIENIEU SE91 man SHEET 70F 7CRIMPING APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The art of crimpingterminal contacts onto electrical wires or leads as such are known as inthe art, is well developed'as exemplified by US. Pat. No. 3,416,213among many others. Generally speaking the crimping Y art includes thesteps of placing a contact between crimping dies or indentors, insertinga prepared electrical lead into the barrel of the contact and crimpingit firmly onto the lead. Where a hand-operated crimping apparatusis'used,-the .depth of crimp can be controlled simply by the amount ofpressure applied. Obviously, a hand tool of this type can crimp a ratherlarge range of sizes of leads and terminals. However, where it isdesired to automate the operation, the amount of crimp; i.e., the depththe dies or indentors advance, is not as versatile. This means then thatan automatic or semiautomatic apparatus can be used for different leadand contact sizes by changing out the indentors and the mechanismdrivingsuch indentors.

Another problem workers in the field have experienced is the mechanismopening and closing the funnel which guides the leads intothe contactbarrels. Because the mechanism must be coordinated with the indentors,such mechanism as well as the funnel itself must be complex to achievethe desired results.

Accordingly the present invention provides, in a apparatus useful forcrimping terminal contacts onto electrical leads, the apparatus, beingof the type having .a funnel assembly, for guiding the leads into thecontact and also having a plurality of indentors operable to crimp thecontact onto the lead, an improvement being first a funnel consisting oftwo halves, each half having a leg portion and on one end thereofsemi-circular portion with a radiused tapered groove along its open sideso that when the funnel halves are in abutting relation,

the grooves cooperate to form a funnel opening, and each half furtherhaving on another end a perpendicular extending, cam following pin, anda spring retaining pin on the leg portion, and a pair of funnel camseach having a base portion, upstanding wall portion and a step-like camportion having a angled wall surface adapted .to block theafore-mentioned cam following pin whereby the funnel halves are kept inclosed engagement with each other, a wall parallel to the funnel legwhereby the pin may move freely outwardly under biasing force of saidsprings thereby opening the funnels, and a ramp on the step whereby thepin maybe DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The crimping apparatusof FIG. 1 is adapted to crimp a terminal contact 10 as seen in FIG. 7onto an electrical lead 12 to produce a terminated lead 14. So thatreturned to its abutting relation with the angled wall this operationcan be done on an assembly line basis, a plurality of contacts 10 aremounted on a carrier strip 16 which is fed through the apparatus. Thestrip, made of a plastic film such as MYLAR, consists of a base sheet 17having spaced apart slots 18 along its rear side 19 and a narrow strip20 electronically welded on top .of the sheet and extending rearwardlyfrom the front edge 21. Base sheet 17 and strip 20 form pockets 22between the'electronic weldswhich hold contacts 10.

The apparatus in FIG. 1 includes the mechanical apparatus 26 and itshousing 28 which also doubles as a carrying case. The case includes ahinged side 29 which provides access to apparatus 26, a reel assembly 30which includes a free wheeling feed reel 31 on which is coiledafore-mentioned carrier strip. 16 loaded with contacts 10. The reelassembly 30 also includes a reel mounting spindle 32 and a verticalattachment post 33. The apparatus 26 includes on its left side (towardthe left margin) a wire stripper assembly 36 which has been disclosed inUS. Pat. No. 3,630,105. As taught in that patent an end of an electricallead 12 is inserted into a funnel shaped opening 37 and four blades (notshown) within the assembly cut away or strip a portion of insulationfrom lead 12 leaving a bare section of conductor 38 exposed as shown inFIG. 7. Besides opening 37, other parts of the stripper assembly 36which is shown include the stripper head 39, an insulation scrap basket40, and to the right, a stripping adjusting knob 41. A protective shield42 encloses most of the assembly.

The crimping assembly 44 is on the right of apparatus 26 and includesthe crimping head assembly 46 and the rocker assembly 48 (FIG. 4) andthe belt feed 50. Additionally but not shown are the .power means todrive 'both the wire stripper assembly 36 and crimping assembly 44.

A crimping head adjustment wheel 52 is located to the left and below thecrimping head assembly.

The important aspect in the present invention is the crimping headassembly 46 which is shown in exploded justing the depth of penetrationof the bolt in to the head and tail.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 2a is an enlarged view of afunnel cam;

fashion in FIG. 2 orientated in the position it occupies on the crimpingassembly 44. Beginning with the face of the'assembly 46, the firstelement is a clear plastic cover plate 53 which-contains a plurality ofmounting holes 54, a central aperture 55 and a horizontal slot 56integral with the aperture.

The element behind cover 53 is indentor retainer ring 58 which containsa number of mounting holes 59 and on the rear side, two slots 60a, eachapart and which form a part of carrier strip slot 60 which can be seenin FIG. 3. The left hand slot 60a has one corner designated at 62,rounded to permit belt 16 to move into the slots without snagging anedge.

The next part in the assembly 46 is the cam wheel 64. The front surfaceof wheel 64 contains two identical cam slots 65, each 180 apart. Theslots are adapted to receive a funnel cam 66, held therein by funnel camretainer 67 which is attached to wheel 64 via screw 68 threadedlyengaging bore 69 in the slot. The construction of funnel cam 66 can bestbe seen in FIG. 2a. The cam includes a base member 70 and an upstandingwall member 71 integral with the base and having a zig-zagconfiguration. Further there is a cam member 72 integral with base 70and wall portion 71, and contains a ramp 73.

The rear side (away from the reader) of cam wheel 64 contains two slots,180 apart, which form another portion of carrier strip slot 60 and aredesignated at 6017. Also found on the rear side of wheel 64 are fourindentor cam seats 73, each being 90 apart from its neighbor. Each seatreceives an indentor cam 75 and a return cam 76. Cam wheel 64 also has apin 77 which is housed in an appropriate aperture (not shown) andextends rearwardly from the wheel.

lndentor guide 80 of the crimping head assembly 46 is shown in FIG. 2 tothe left of cam wheel 64. Guide 80, a metal disk, receives a split wirefunnel assembly 81 in its funnel groove 82 located on its front side.The groove terminates in the center of the guide in a funnel bore 83which extends therethrough. A wire removal slot 84 extends laterally ofbore 83, both slot 84 and bore 83 being in alignment with slot 56 andaperture 55 respectively found on the plastic cover plate 53. Towardeach lateral extremity of groove 82 is a recess slot 85 which receives afunnel spring 86 one end of which is attached to a pin (not shown)projecting rearwardly from a leg member 87 on funnel assembly 81 andwhich thereby biases each half of funnel 81 laterally away from funnelbore 83.

Each half of funnel 81 includes the afore-mentioned leg member 87 whichterminates outwardly at a point 88 which contains a rearwardlyprojecting cam pin 89. lnwardly each leg member 87 terminates in ansemicircular portion 90 which is attached perpendicularly to the legmember. Each semi-circular portion has a tapered, radiused groove 90aextending inwardly from one side and a cylindrical radiused grooveportion 90b extending to the opposite side.

The rear side of guide 80 can best be described by referring to FIG.3-as well as FIG. 2.

Bisecting the guide 80 is portion 600 of carrier strip slot 60.Attention is drawn to the fact that the rearward opening of wire removalslot 84 terminates in a section of carrier strip slot 60.

Radiating outwardly from funnel bore 83 are four indentor groovescollectively numbered 92 and spaced 90 degrees apart from each other.

A rearwardly facing step 93 encircling the perimeter of guide 80 on itsrear side, as can be seen more clearly in FIG. 2, receives the inwardlyextending end of return cam 76.

A plurality of bores 94 extend through guide 80 for mounting purposes.

Each indentor groove 92 receives an indentor 96 (FIG. 2) which consistsof three sections; i.e., an indenting head member 97, a tail cammingmember 98 and an adjusting connecting member 99 which both connects thetwo and adjusts the overall length. Al-

though not shown, the member is threaded at either end and is receivedin threaded apertures located in the two outer sections. Head member 97terminates in a tapered, squared-off point 100. Tail member 98 has itslower surface; i.e., the side away from the reader in FIG. 2, notched at101 so that the indentor can move freely under cam return 76 as seen inFIG. 3. At the outside end of the tail section a pin 102 projects upfrom the floor of the notched area to a height equal to the step 103formed by reason of notching.

A rear cover plate 104 covers the rear top half of crimping headassembly 46. Holes 105 therein admit conventional bolts (not shown) forpurposes of mounting the plate to the assembly.

The assembly of crimping head assembly involves telescoping the threemain elements into each other so that guide 80 fits within cam wheel 64and those two elements fit within ring 56. The assembly is fixed to thecrimping apparatus so that the guide 80 and ring 56 are stationary andthe cam wheel is free to rotate a distance equal to the length of a slot106 in cam return 76.

The back of an assembled crimping head assembly 46 is shown in FIG. 3 soas to illustrate the interrelationship of the indentors 96 with theseveral other elements of the assembly. Each tail member 98 abuts thebeveled side 105 of cam 75 and pin 102 projects into slot 106 in cam 76.As cam wheel 64 is oscillated back and forth, indentors 96 are driven inand out along grooves 92 via the cooperating structure of the two cams75 and 76. Connecting member 99 insures that each indentor 96 travelsinwardly to the same depth as the other indentors 96.

FIG. 4 illustrates the rocker assembly 48 which oscillates cam wheel 64.Rocker arm 110 is rocked back and forth by conventional means; i.e., anelectric motor (not shown) driving a fly wheel 111 on which a roller 112is mounted and which rides in slot 113 in arm 110. Arm 110 pivots abouta pin 114 and is connected to pin 77 in cam wheel 64 via slot 115located in the upper end of the arm. A switch 116 controlling theoperation of rocker arm 1 10 is seen to the right of roller 1 12. Theassembly which drives carrier strip 16 through the carrier strip slot 60is seen in part in phantom and consists of a pair of drive wheels (notshown) and belt 116 on which are fixed a plurality of teeth 117 whichengage slots 18 in carrier strip 16.

FIG. 5 shows the front of crimping head assembly 46 and the relationbetween funnel assembly 81 and funnel cam 66. The pin 89 on each leg 87engages cam 66 at or near the point of juncture 120 between wall portion71 and cam member 72 thereby holding each funnel half 81 in the closedposition shown.

Referring now to FIG. 6, cam wheel 64 has been rotated counter-clockwiseallowing cam member 72 to move past pin 89 and out of blocking positionof funnel assembly 81. Under the force of springs 86 the funnel halvesare pushed open as seen. As cam wheel 64 rotates back, pin 89 rides upramp 73 and back into the blocked position seen in FIG. 5.

OPERATION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The operator selects an insulatedelectrical lead 12 and inserts it into wire stripper assembly 36 andcauses the four blades therein (not shown) to accurately sever a lengthof insulation therefrom to expose a section of conductor 38. He movesthe stripped lead to the closed funnel halves (FIG. 6) and inserts ittherein, and into the barrel 125 of contact positioned immediatelybehind. The operator-actuates a switch (not shown) which causes therocker assembly to rotate cam wheel 80 clockwise a distance far enoughto cause pin 89 to ride along the front of ramp 73 keeping the funnelhalves closed and maintaining correct alignment of lead 12 and contact10. Concurrently the indentor earns 75 are causing indentors 86 toadvance inwardly to crimp barrel 125 onto lead 12. Subsequent theretocam wheel 64 is rotated counter-clockwise which causes indentors 96 tomove outwardly and the funnels halves to open. Simultaneously carrierstrip 16 is advanced (via belt 1 16) to the right so that a new contact26 is placed between indentors 96 and aligned with grooves 91.Additionally the now terminated lead 14 is advanced along wire removalslot 84 where lead 14 and contact 10 are pulled from carrier strip 16.This completes the'cycle and leaves the crimping head assembly 46 inreadiness for terminating another lead 12.

Changes in construction will occur to those skilled in the art andvarious apparently different modifications and embodiments may be madewithout departing from the scope of the invention. The matter set forthin the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered bywayof illustration only. The actual scope of the invention is intended tobe defined in the following claims when viewed in their properperspective against the prior art.

What is claimed is:

1. In an apparatus useful for crimping terminal contacts onto electricalleads, the aparatus being of the type having a funnel assembly forguiding and holding the leads into the, contact and having a pluralityof indentors for crimping the contact onto the lead, an improvementcomprising:

a. a funnel assembly consisting of two halves, each half having a legportion, a perpendicular, semicircular portion having a radiused groove,with a tapered section on one end of said leg portion, said groovescooperating to form a funnel opening when said halves are in abuttingrelation, and a cam pin on another end of said leg portion, and furtherhaving a spring engaging pin on said leg portion;

b. a pair of funnel cams each having a base member, an upstanding wallmember and a cam member, said cam member including a funnel blockingportion adapted to block outwardly movement of said cam pin on saidfunnel leg portion, a parallel portion adapted to permit outwardlymovement of said cam pin, and a ramp adapted to return said cam pin fromsaid parallel portion to said funnel-blocking portion; and

c. a plurality of indentors each indentor consisting of a indentinghead, a camming tail and a connecting member threadedly engaged both tosaid head and said tail and operable to vary the length of said indentorby adjusting the amount of threaded engagement of either or both of saidhead and said tail thereonto.

2. In an apparatus useful for crimping terminal contacts onto electricalleads, an improvement comprising:

a. center portions with a funnel opening extending inwardly from oneside and merging with a cylindri cal opening extending to the otherside, said center portion split along a plane extending through the axisof said funnel and cylindrical openings thereby forming two identicalcenter portion halves;

b. a pair of leg members each extending laterally from one of saidcenter portion halves and attached thereto, and

c. a camming pin on a free end of each of said leg members;

d. a pair of biasing means each adapted to bias a center portion halfaway from another center portion half; and

e. camming means adapted to engage said camming pin on said leg memberfor camming said center portion halves into abutting engagement witheach other.

3. The camming means of claim 1 further including blocking means thereonadapted to keep said center halves in abutting engagement and ramp meansthereon adapted to return said camming pin to said blocking means.

4. In an apparatus useful for crimping terminal contacts onto electricalleads, an improvement comprising:

a. a plurality of indentors, each indentor having a indentor headmember, one end being tapered and another end having a threadedaperture;

b. a cam-engaging tail member having on one end a threaded aperture; and

c. a connecting member threaded on both ends and adapted to be attachedto said head and tail members via said threaded apertures and furtheradapted to vary the length of said indentor by adjusting the depth ofsaid threaded attachment.

